Control means for brakes



R. V. MORSE CONTROL MEANS FOR BRAKES Original Filed June 23, 1931 Map-ch31, 1936.

Patented Mar. 31, 1936 Y Original application June 23, 1931, Serial No.

546,211. Divided and this application June 1,

1932, Serial No. 614,657

2 Claims.

This invention relates to brakes such as used on automobiles, and isparticularly directed to the means for controlling such brakes. This isa division of application Ser. No. 546,211, for

Electric brake, filed June 23, 1931 by Robert V. Morse, now Patent No.1,960,915, issued May 29, 1934, wherein a typical and improved form ofelectro-dynamic brake is illustrated. In general this invention has forits primary object the im-- provement of the control of the road speedof auto-mobiles, so that the driver may have instantly under his controlboth the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle, with a minimum ofphysical effort and a minimum of psychological or muscular time lag.This has been increasingly important with the advent of ordinary touringspeeds in the order of 75 feet per second, (50 miles per hour). Anotherobject has been to accomplish the desired result with as little changein the normal acquired driving habits of the operator as possible.Another object isto combine in a single element the usual acceleratorfoot rest and a brake control pedal, and place the same so closelyadjacent the acceleratcr pedal that the foot pressure can instantlyshift from one to the other. While the invention is shown applied to anelectric brake, as a preferred form, the features herein claimed are ofgeneral application to all forms of brakes capable of being operated bya short pedal travel controlling any form of power brake, whether it beelectric, pneumatic, mechanical-servo, or hydraulic, as will be apparentto those skilled in the art. Various other objects will become apparentas the description proceeds.

Referring now to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a typical installation, showing anautomobile equipped with an electro-dynamic brake, and suitable hand and40 foot control levers.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a typical wiring of an electric brakecontrol system.

Fig. 3 illustrates the manner of mounting the brake control switch orpedal, with which this 45 invention is particularly concerned.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the automobile 2 is shown provided with atypical form of electrodynamic brake 3, such as described for example inthe Patent No. 1,960,915, above mentioned. Such brakes consist ingeneral of an armature 4 rotating with the drive shaft 5, and a fieldstructure 6 generally supported on the rear end of the transmission gearbox I, so as to be held in alignment with the shaft from thetransmission which carries the armature. The lleld structure 6 usuallyhas a number of poles I0,which are shown more in detail in Fig. 2,andthe strength of the braking force is regulated by varying the strengthof the field. By' varying the strength of the field the strength of the5 currents generated in the armature is varied, and the product of thearmature currents andfield magnetization gives the resisting torque 'orbraking effect. The strength of the field is usually varied by arheostat in the field circuit, or in 10 the preferred form of theapplication above mentioned, by successively cutting in or out variouspoles l0,-that is, varying the number in action. In either case acontroller l5, having a number of different contact points, is required.

Such a controller is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 2, in which thefield poles H] are shown divided into six pairs, marked A -A", B B",C'-C", D'D", E'E F'F which are electrically connected to correspondingcontacts atv the controller 15 marked A, B, C, D, E, F. The controllerI5 is shown diagrammatically as a segment l6 pivoted at ll, which may bemoved over the contacts A, B, C, D, E, F to successively throw them incircuit with the battery, It, and thus energize the field poles invarying degrees to vary the braking effect. V I

The circuit is also controlled by a master switch 19, which, thru acoincidental lock 20 is also connected to operate with theignitionswitch 2|. A lamp 88, operating from a contact W may also beused to guard against having the brake current on when the car isstanding still. The switch mechanism l5 shown is merely illustrative,and any other regulator having a series of contacts may be used, as willbe evident to those skilled in the art.

In Figure 3 the brake mechanism 3 and the throttle or accelerator valvemechanism of an automobile are indicated diagrammatically in 40 aconventional manner to illustrate the relationship of the acceleratorpedal 26 and brake pedal 25 with which the present patent is concerned.In Figure 3 the intake pipe M of the motor which is shown provided withthe valve 40, as is commonly found in automobile engines, this valve 40being operated by the accelerator pedal 26 through any suitable linkage43, the details of the linkage and valve being immaterial so far as thepresent invention is concerned, and varying in different cars. Theparticular form of brake 3 is also immaterial, so far as the presentinvention is concerned, so long as it is power operated so as to becapable of control in a short range of motion by the brake control pedal25, the brake mechanism 3 being shown conventionally in Figure 3, forpurposes of diagrammatic illustration as a magnetically operated unitoperating on the brake drum 4 mounted on the drive shaft 5, andenergized by a source of power 44. The controller I5 is arranged to giveincreasing degrees of braking force as the pedal 25 is depressed, sothat the general operation of the brake itself, so far as the operatoris concerned, is the same as any ordinary braking system, which may beused instead, as will be evident to those skilled in the art.

The present invention is particularly directed to a method of mountingthe brake pedal 25 and the accelerator pedal 26 so as to obtain improvedconvenience of operation and greater promptness and certainty of action.

Referring now to Fig. 1 and Fig. 3,-especially the latter,the brakecontroller I5 is shown operated by depression of a pedal 25 placed soclosely adjacent to the accelerator pedal 26 as to act as a footrest forthe accelerator pedal 26. In other words, the footrest 25 of theaccelerator pedal 26 is used as an operating element for the electricbrake controller l5. This is accomplished in the following manner:

The pedal 25 actuates a rod 30 extending into the brake controller boxl5 to energize the circuits A, B, C, D, E, F as described,-this plungerrod 30 operating against a spring 32 which is heavier than the usualspring on the accelerator pedal 26, so that under ordinary conditionsthe operators foot 35 may rest on the pedal 25 without depressing it andso may use the pedal 25 as a footrest to steady his foot in operatingthe pedal 26.

To accelerate the car, the operator tilts his foot and depresses theaccelerator in the usual manner. When he desires to apply the electricbrake, he merely tilts it the other way, or shifts his foot slightly soas to release the accelerator 26 and depress the pedal 25. While thebrake pedal 25 has a stiffer spring than the accelerator, yet it is notso stiff as to require any great effort to depress it, and the effortrequired is less than that required by the ordinary brake pedal. Thusnot only is much less muscular force required, but also the brakes canbe applied with the utmost promptness and ease, increasing the safety indriving and the facility of control of the car.

While I have in the foregoing described certain specific examples, itwill be understood that they are merely for purposes of illustration tomake clear the principles of the invention, which is not limited to theparticular form shown, and is susceptible to various modifications andadaptations in different installations as will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention asstated in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a braking system for automobiles, the combination of anaccelerator pedal adapted to be pushed downward, a brake, a controllerfor said brake, and a pedal adapted to be pushed downward operating saidcontroller, said last mentioned pedal having a stiffer resistance thanthe accelerator pedal and being arranged closely adjacent to saidaccelerator pedal so as to form a foot rest for said accelerator pedal,the two pedals being placed sufficiently closely side by side so thatboth may be operated by the toe of the operator without displacing hisheel and the accelerator pedal may be operated by pushing down one sideof his foot While the other side rests on the brake controller pedal,whereby an automobile may be accelerated or decelerated with slightchange in position of the foot, the foot of the operator restingsimultaneously on both said .foot rest and accelerator pedal, so thatthe brake may be applied by tilting the foot one way and the acceleratormay be applied by tilting the foot the other way.

2. In a braking system for automobiles, the combination of anaccelerator pedal adapted to be pushed downward, a brake, a controllerfor said brake, and a pedal adapted to be pushed downward operating saidcontroller, said last mentioned pedal having a stifier resistance thanthe accelerator pedal and being arranged closely adjacent on the righthand side of said accelerator pedal so as to form a foot rest for saidaccelerator pedal, the two pedals being placed sufficiently closely sideby side so that both may be operated by the toe of the operator withoutdisplacing his heel and the accelerator pedal may be operated by pushingdown the left side of his right foot while the other side rests on thebrake controller pedal, the foot of the operator resting simultaneouslyon both said foot rest and accelerator pedal, so that the brake may beapplied by tilting the foot one way and the accelerator may be appliedby tilting the foot the other way,

